Black Bear Protection Efforts
LyttleBryan May 24th, 2010
Over the last couple of weeks a storm has been brewing between NPS, tourists, and (for lack of better term) environmentalists. A few weeks ago a tourist was in the Smokies at the ever-popular Laurel Falls. While traveling off trail, he came in contact with a young 60lb female black bear. While taking pictures of the bear, it began to approach him. He let it come so close to him that it bit his foot. Eventually word spread to the rangers and NPS until the man finally contacted them. Since the bite was so minor it didn’t require medical attention, it took a few days before the man decided to report it.
Since the bear attacked a tourist, it was hunted down, captured, and eventually euthanized. The bear, named Laurel by supporters, stirred quite a response from myself, and others. A group was formed on facebook in hopes of stopping the NPS from euthanizing the bear. Unfortunatley the group was not able to sway park services, who claimed their hands were tied.
It’s a sad story of what ignorant people do to our wild life, and natural resources. I’ll admit it takes great restraint from losing my temper while typing this. I want to scream and shout and hunt down the idiot that caused all of this. Instead I’ll just challenge anyone that reads this. Stand up for the animals in the park. When you see someone doing something that harms our park, do something about it. If the animals stand up for themselves they get euthanized.
- Hiking
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